Electrospun PCL nanofibers with anisotropic mechanical properties as a biomedical scaffold

Abstract

To design an ideal scaffold, various factors should be considered, such as pore size and morphology, mechanical properties versus porosity, surface properties and appropriate biodegradability. Of these factors, the importance of mechanical properties on cell growth is particularly obvious in tissues such as bone, cartilage, blood vessels, tendons and muscles. Although electrospun nanofibers provide easily applicable nano-sized structures which could be used as biomedical scaffolds, the mechanical properties are poor since an increased pore size and porosity are generally accompanied by a decrease in mechanical properties. In addition, the general electrospinning has been limited to the fabrication of a variety of anisotropic mechanical properties, which are extremely important parameters for designing a musculoskeletal system. In this study, scaffolds consisting of variously oriented nanofibers were produced using an electrospinning process modified with an auxiliary electrode and a two-axis robot collecting system. Using an auxiliary electrode, a stable Taylor cone and initial spun jets were obtained. The influence of the electrode was evaluated with electric field simulation. Using the modified electrospinning process, various directions of orientation of electrospun fibers could be acquired and the fabricated oriented nanofiber webs showed a mechanically anisotropic behavior and a higher hydrophilic property compared to randomly distributed fibrous mats.